In those Eyes
by yuki-ryou
Summary: For one, who can not forget about his past, and for the other, who can not move onto the future… Together, they will help heal each other. The problem is, can they really move on? [FujiRyo, slightly TezuFuji and MomoRyo]
1. Part I, what do you see?

**Disclaimer:** _The Prince of Tennis_ © Takeshi Konomi

**Author's Note:** ...kyaaa...just felt like doing a "one-shot"(?) on tenipuri -- though I feel guilty rejecting my "CfL" and my upcoming project, "FaB". I'm not sure if I want to carry out this story into chapters, who knows though. I was angsting when I realized that there weren't many stories that contained FujiRyo angst with a bit of TezuFuji and MomoRyo. well if that isn't happening, I might as well write one for myself, ne? Support FujiRyo! Though I absolutely _adore_ TezuFuji - nyahh-naahh, I feel guilty x3 mmm also, this story was inspired by **anek**. I read his/ (kyaa) her (?) story 'False Beginnings' and I was like, "I wanna read more of this kind!" But yeah…he/she opened my heart to FujiRyo love 3 so this story could be for anek-san, please tell me your gender x3;; I think you're a girl O.o;; anou sa I'll side on that, maybe I'm right, nyaa-haa 3

**Couples:** FujiRyo, slight TezuFuji and MomoRyo. One-sided SaekiFuji (sorry, couldn't help it).

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

In those Eyes

**Part I**, what do you see?

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

"Sempai."

"Hm?" He turned around, "Aa...Echizen." It was like he didn't recognize the voice of someone who called his name so many times in the past. As if, he was waiting for someone else to call his name...the name Fuji Syusuke. The third year student, prodigy of tennis; smiled at the younger boy. "Sad that I'm graduating and your not?"

Echizen's face remained unchanged, as he carefully looked at Fuji once more. "Hm. Maybe." He shoved his hands in his pockets and looked away, as if he had enough of looking at his sempai for too long now. "Though, it might be nice to know that I'll become captain next semester." There it was -- Echizen's cocky smile that amused Fuji by far, since the day he first met the boy in his third year of junior high. The thought made Fuji smile in return, though the difference was more of a sincere, meaningful one.

"Don't get too confident," Fuji replied. "Then again, I may believe you will take the place of Tezuka."

"Aa…" Echizen shrugged, though the name of their captain made him shift uncomfortably. Fuji swore he caught a glimpse of something…sadness, he guessed, in Echizen's eyes. But it vanished as quickly as it came.

"Sempai…what are you planning to do, after you graduate?"

The similar words of which Echizen asked him, reminded the tensai of that day…when Tezuka had asked him the same thing. He still memorized their conversation, and Fuji just chuckled; repeating the same words he had told Tezuka. "I'm going to continue playing tennis." The answer was simple, yet it was…something of a second thought. He wasn't planning to go with this dream, until he had spoke with Tezuka probably a month or so back; when they had went with their final judgment. The day they cleared up everything about themselves, their bond, and their feelings.

"Hm…" Echizen smirked, "Good choice."

_Is it really…?_

"Hey! Fuji-kun, the graduation ceremony is about to begin!" A girl, ( probably someone from Fuji's class, Echizen noted ) hollered to the senior from the second floor of one of the high school buildings. She yelled loud enough to attract more attention needed, and Fuji just laughed sheepishly, responding back with a loud shout: "Hai, hai! I'll be right up!" The communication between them just made Echizen lower his head, cap shadowing his eyes as he felt embarrassed. Obviously some of the freshman's and second years were whispering, wondering what Fuji was up to down in the tennis court rather then being up with the rest of the senior classes. Though, when they saw Echizen, they erupted into more whispers.

"You attract a lot of attention, Fuji-sempai."

"Aa…I guess so." He began to start walking, stopping right beside the freshman with a glamorous smile. He patted Echizen on the back and tilted his head slightly, so he could see the corner of the infamous freshman's eye. He always loved Echizen's eyes, they were pretty. Serious, devoted, yet gentle…he couldn't help but envy those eyes. "Maa…I better start heading back. I'll see you sometime, and visit the others after graduation probably," the tensai exclaimed. "You--," his voice became stern, "better not stop playing tennis…unless you really don't want to." It ended, shortly right after he felt his sempai's hand withdraw from his shoulder. The warmth and pressure of his hand still lingered, and Echizen shrugged off the feeling; walking back to his own class. The words Fuji-sempai had said, was not his words at all…it was those words, he repeated from someone else.

-- -- -- -- --

"Yippie! We graduated, nyaahh Oishi!" Kikumaru beamed happily as he held his diploma up in the air. He was practically jumping with joy, and Oishi couldn't help but smile as well, enjoying of the event. They had made it, finally to the year in which they graduated from school. High school to be exact, though they had left some of their precious team members behind, the thought of moving onto the future excited them. It was time to make a choice, a dependent choice among all of them – in which chose what path they would take to carry on their lives. "Kyaa, let's go to the same college Oishi!" Kikumaru shouted, clinging to his best-friend…or someone much more.

Fuji couldn't help but grin at his friends, though the façade was easily ripped off as he made contact with Tezuka.

"_I'm going to Germany…I'm going to attend a University there."_

"Are you going to miss us, Tezuka?" _Are you going to miss me…?_

The stoic 'man', who had grown so much in the previous years, nodded with his yet serious face; no sad trace of emotion on his handsome features. He hadn't grown much, Fuji noted. The outer-appearance yet, yes, but inside…he was still the old Tezuka. The man he loved, a man in front of him which he could not reach. Fuji couldn't help but pity himself, he should be happy that Tezuka made a choice of finishing his studies in Germany. He could also be a pro tennis player there too…Tezuka had to live his life; it wasn't like he had a say in this. Masking his face with a grand smile, Fuji averted his attention to the others.

"Oi, I forgot!" Oishi stated with guilt, "you're going to Germany aren't you Tezuka? We'll have to hold a party for you!"

The ex-captain shook his head, "No, it's just going away. It'll be alright."

He was always like this, never wanting to attend social gatherings unless it related to tennis. Fuji never figured out an answer, why he chose to go to Germany than stay here and work his way up to being one of the best professional tennis players. His arm had healed, and he had improved much more that he could be an unofficial pro already. Why? Fuji wondered, but never had the courage to ask. He no longer had the will to ask Tezuka anything, or even talk to him. All he could do right now was act happy, and understand Tezuka's reasoning of leaving Japan – heading off to Germany.

"Aa…but we _have_ to hold a party for you, bochou," Inui stated while pressing his rectangular spectacles up his nose. "That's the last thing we can do for you, before you depart."

Tezuka just remained silent, knowing that it was best to let them do whatever they wanted. He could never control these people, but he was glad that he was able to coach them, being the captain of the tennis club for three years in high school, immediately trying out for the spot when they had entered. He was an exceptional player, of course he got the position. And with him getting the obvious role, they also followed suit and the old team of Seigaku transformed into the new team of Sakurada. They had clinged to each other, followed each other, no matter how many years it was. Until today that is, today was the end. The day they departed…

"Ne, ne, we should gather up with the rest!" Eiji suggested, waving his hand which held the precious diploma. "I'm going to brag nyaahh, about graduating to Momo-chan and ochibi!"

The eyes of Echizen appeared in Fuji's mind, those eyes…He found it better to think of those eyes than think of Tezuka. He looked at Tezuka's eyes, and compared them to Echizen's. No…the younger boys eyes were more beautiful…no matter how you looked at it, it was more beautiful than Tezuka's…maybe it was the feeling in those eyes of Echizen that Fuji found them beautiful. Maybe, or maybe it was something else. The sadness in those eyes…confidence, encouraged eyes, rather than the cold, prideful forsaken eyes of their captain. Such difference in those two…wasn't there?

He would have to remember Tezuka's eyes though; that stare of his so he wouldn't forget. One day, he would need to remind himself that, it was those eyes that made him fall in love with the bochou. But it was also those eyes that killed those precious feelings.

-- -- -- -- --

"Ahhh…their graduating, it's not fair!" Momoshiro heaved a heavy sighed. "Not fair…not fair at all…now we're gonna be a lonely team, ne Echizen?"

"Probably," the boy stated while sipping a can of his favorite soda. Momoshiro grinned, as he grabbed the drink away from the slightly younger and yet still smaller boy. He was always drinking Ponta, no change at all within the years. More ever, _he_ didn't change one bit. Echizen would always be Echizen, someone arrogant, always trying to keep a cool face and that know-it-all act, that attitude that made opponents lose their temper. No matter how you looked at it, he was Echizen Ryoma…someone who wasn't as easy to open up to someone else. Someone who wouldn't trust someone unless he was sure they deserved it. He didn't act like a kid, the second year noted with a sigh. It was no fun at all seeing Echizen the same these years.

"Eh," Echizen grunted as he snatched back his drink; while Momoshiro was still in his trance of thoughts. He hated when his sempai was like this, always thinking of something – or somebody else while they hung out. Echizen didn't mind being alone, nor did he mind being ignored. It was just…Momoshiro was different he guessed.

"Oi Echizen…do you think we'll ever see them again?"

He shrugged, not caring to answer.

"Hm…Echizen, you know…I meant what I said."

Echizen shrugged once more, though he had his eyes on his companion.

"I have a year left…and you have two…you know, I'll be here for you. Even if, their not." When Momoshiro said this, it had seemed like 'everyone' was part of the circle. Though, he didn't care less to correct the older boy's mistake. Although he wasn't that close to most of the team members, he knew that whatever happened – they would find out one way or another if there was anything troubling one of their friends. Even if one was on the other side of the planet, they would still get the news that something happened to them. That was how they were, even he couldn't avoid having a bond towards the team.

"I know, Momo-sempai." He said this, with a nod. He did know, even if most of the team members weren't going to be here anymore…there were still some left…holding onto the team spirit.

-- -- -- -- --

( **Two years later…** )

-- -- -- -- --

Fuji always loved cats, and he always welcomed stray ones…providing them and nurturing them until they were able to support themselves and live on. He just didn't know, on that rainy day, that he would accept a stray kitten which needing more care than any other.

"…Echizen," he spoke the boy's name with unexpected surprise.

There, standing in front of his door way was a damp teenager, who looked lost more than ever. He didn't dare look up at Fuji, but Fuji could tell that Echizen was in pain. He needed someone, but why did he end up at _his_ doorstep? There wasn't time to think of this, as Fuji realized the condition Echizen was in. He moved aside to open the door wider, "Come in…Echizen, or you'll catch a cold."

There was no response, all he did was enter, wet bangs covering his eyes as he took slow, lifeless steps.

The brown-haired man grabbed a towel which was lying around on the couch. He didn't know how it ended there, but he was glad that he didn't need to leave Echizen's presence as he fetched the dry cloth. "Here Echizen," Fuji handed him the towel. "Dry yourself, you're clothes are wet too…Why didn't you at least shelter yourself with an umbrella?"

Still, there was no response.

"Echizen…"

He sighed, knowing that he would get nothing out of him. Fuji bent down next to the boy, and began to dry him himself; starting with the damp hair. "Really Echizen…being so careless to just wander around in the rain. How did you find out where I lived? We haven't talked in…" he felt Echizen turn his head to look at his sempai, "…over a year." Those eyes…he almost couldn't finish his sentence seeing those painful eyes. Why did Echizen show up at his doorstep? And why with that look? It reminded him of… _No…don't think of him…_Fuji shook his head, trying to clear the face of that man. Right now, Echizen was troubled and he needed to help him.

"What's wrong Echizen?"

"…Echizen…"

Fuji sighed, giving up. If he felt like telling him, he was sure that Echizen would tell him. He had a feeling though, it had something to do with Momoshiro.

"Ne, Echizen…take off your clothes. I'm going to dry them, you can wear mine for now."

Echizen obeyed, funny…he wouldn't talk, but he would listen.

Fuji got up to fetch the spare clothes, which was neatly folded on the kitchen table. "Maa, well good thing you caught me in the time of folding clothes…" He tried to lighten the atmosphere with a laugh, but he could feel that even that wasn't enough. "These may be big, but they'll fit," Fuji stated; handing over a t-shirt and shorts. He took the wet clothes from Echizen and walked to the bathroom, where the washer and dryer were located. He looked behind him, as he watched the depressed boy dress himself in Fuji's clothes. The shorts were a bit big, but they still were able to hang against his hips well, and the shirt seemed comfortable, although it some-what clinged to his wet skin. Surely (or more like for sure ), Echizen Ryoma was going to catch a cold.

_I wonder how he knew where I lived…_

Fuji thought of this while putting the clothes in the dryer. Could the others have notified him? No…only Eiji and Kawamura knew where he lived…and Inui as well ( he didn't know how Inui found out, but he was sure he had something to do with his data collecting, most likely anyways ). Well, how he knew didn't trouble Fuji. _Why_ he came was what worried the man. There had to be a reason behind this, especially with those sad eyes…if only Echizen would say something. Those eyes reminded him of his own…that day Tezuka left. That pain, he knew he couldn't hide from. The façade he held couldn't control the immense pain that revealed in those midnight blue eyes of his; like how Echizen couldn't hide the pain he as showing…no matter what kind of expressionless face he played on.

"…Maa…" Fuji walked back in the room, "Are you hungry Echizen?"

"Fuji-sempai, I'm going to live with you."

The blunt, unexpected, surprising statement almost made Fuji stumble. Echizen was not requesting, nor asking; he wasn't demanding either – he just…said it like_ that_.

Fuji grinned, "Oh?"

"Hai sempai."

Fuji knew that Echizen wouldn't give out the real reason for why he was here in the first place, but if he wanted to stay here – then he simply could. Fuji after all, wanted company and having Echizen here would be more fun. Had Echizen expected him to agree? It would've been troublesome if his apartment didn't have two rooms, gladly he did…but Echizen had never been at his apartment before, so if he had only one room…would Echizen still have told him that he would live here from now on? The thought only made him confused more, but Fuji pushed all the questions away. "Alright Echizen, though…there's one condition you'll have to agree to if you really want to live here."

A condition? Echizen smirked, "Hn…"

"You have to answer the questions I ask you."

"Eh?"

"Unless they are too personal to answer," he added.

He saw Echizen hesitate to answer, but nodded. It seemed like he really did want to live here…Well, more reason to uncover the truth behind all of this.

"Alright, why are you here?"

Echizen crossed his arms, "I can't be here?" he raised an eyebrow. Fuji watched in curiosity as Echizen continued with his façade, that weak, yet confident face he was putting up. Fuji could see it, even though Echizen was hiding it carefully; his eyes had a hint of what he really felt. The emotion earlier, which reflected through his eyes, had vanished, but he could see a small trace of it…even if it was disappearing quickly. "Tell me the truth, Ryoma." Fuji saying Echizen's first name triggered the barrier he put around himself.

_I'm going to break that wall…_

"He called me…"

"Called you?"

Echizen nodded, his eyes casting downward at the touchy subject. "Tachibana's sister…Ann-san…Momoshiro got her pregnant." The words came out slowly, the last part he had to cough it up. "He gave me reasons too…but…"

"You don't need to explain," Fuji interrupted. "Its okay…you can stay here as long as you like."

He had picked up a lost kitten, one that had suffered a huge blow. He wasn't sure when it was able to walk again, but he knew that right now…all he could do was help heal its wound. He wasn't sure if it was the right thing to do, but he was a friend, and fellow ex-team member. He had to help this boy – this boy who was in need of support. Echizen wasn't the type to ask for help, nor was he the type to give in and show anything other than his arrogant, calm, or cool face. Right now, he was troubled, and he had showed up at _his_ doorstep. That meant a lot to Fuji, and that was all it took for him to accept the injured kitten.

-- -- -- -- --

"Fuji-san, how long have you lived with Echizen-san?"

"My, is there anything going on between Echizen-san and you, Fuji-san?"

"Ah! There is a rumor going around that you and Echizen--,"

They shoved their way out of the reporter's tight circle. Fuji felt himself suffocate as all he could see was the same person over and over again. They people who held cameras, notebooks, pens, all to get some information out of the tensai. He groaned, and pushed his way out of the bind. Finally, he was able to escape them. Their questions didn't annoy him to an extreme, but he hated when others were so persistent (not that he wasn't). "Such a crowd," Fuji sighed, feeling guilty for leaving his agent and other fellow gentlemen's out there in the mob of reporters. But right now, he had no choice but to remain inside.

"Ryoma?"

No one answered his call, and so Fuji immediately interpreted that he was somewhere else than home.

Sparing a glance at the clock, he realized that it was rather early to be home right now; though his game at ended later than usual. Fuji just didn't expect the reporters to find out now that he was rooming with Echizen Ryoma; another famous professional tennis player of Japan, a.k.a rival of Fuji Syusuke. Did they really find it odd for two professional tennis players sharing the same apartment? Even though they were also rivals? Fuji grinned to himself, maybe that fact was odd.

"Saa…should I cook tonight?" Fuji wondered, tapping his index finger against his chin. "Or should we go out and eat?" Debating which was better, he stood idly at the kitchen; not even hearing the door opening once again.

"Fuji-sempai," Echizen acknowledged.

"Aa…what'd you like to eat tonight?"

The younger male shrugged, not really caring. "Anything that's edible." He wasn't very pleased with the fact that Fuji wanted to cook, well…it wasn't his cooking that Echizen didn't like…maybe it was his taste in cooking that scared him a bit. Especially when Echizen learned about Fuji's taste buds, and his taste in cuisines…Hot, spicy, anything in that category was considered Fuji's favorite. Something the exact opposite of Echizen's liking. "No wasabi either," he added.

Fuji's smile remained displayed on his face, though he made disappointing noises. "Maa, I guess I'll just have to listen to you."

"You can't cook tonight, though."

The fair-haired man tilted his head in wonder, "Why not?"

"Did you forget?" Echizen sighed, "Today's…" he paused while touching his hair in aggravation, "today's Momo-sempai's birthday…"

Fuji blinked, as if the information didn't absorb. Finally, his eyes opened. "Oh! Gomen, gomen…I forgot…" He trailed off as he looked at the discomfort teenager. "Ne, do you…want to go…?"

He would've expected a nod, but instead Echizen shrugged. "It's his birthday, it'll be rude not to go…and, everyone else is going so…I guess its more reason to attend…" His cold tone reasoned, "I'll go change, you should too; Fuji-sempai."

The short conversation made Fuji regret forgetting about one of his friend's birthday celebrations. It must've been hard on Echizen; then again…he coped with it well last year when they attended. But maybe, this year was a little bit more different; especially when this year they finally had a child. Momo-chan had announced this when he sent everyone an invitation to his baby's baby-shower. Of course though, Fuji didn't go, nor did Echizen. The raison d'être was well explained, the dark-haired boy just couldn't see the baby, and Fuji just couldn't stand seeing Echizen's sad face. Not that he could avoid not seeing it, but it was better being there for him…

_Tonight…I wonder how tonight will be…_

"Fuji-sempai, you're still persistent in making dinner?"

The sound of his voice, Fuji shook his head. "Iie, just…" he thought of a reason, "was feeling bad that I forgot Momo-chan's birthday."

"…I see."

"Well, I'll get dressed and we'll leave. Just give me a moment." Fuji kept his eyes away from Echizen, and walked pasted him. That's right, what would happen tonight? How would it end up as? He felt is shoulder brushed again the smaller boy, but continued to walk to his room. Just looking at Ryoma made him feel wary, not that he was tired of those empty pair of eyes. Just, it reminded him of him self...and it wasn't at all good.

-- -- -- -- --

"Nyan you guys made it!" A hyperactive Eiji cheered, his smile broadening as he saw the last two people walk in through the double doors. "Uwa! Ochibi actually grew taller!" He stated with awe, hands moving in the air to distinguish his height and the younger boy's in front of him. Oishi, standing beside Kikumaru chuckled, knowing that Eiji drank too much sake for his own good.

"Heh…you haven't grown at all," Echizen responded.

"Aww…it's because…nyaahh, I'm in that period of not growing for awhile!" The redhead defended himself, not wanting to admit that he had hit his final growth spurt a few months back. He clinged to Oishi, whining insanely while mumbling words like "Ochibi got meaner" and "he hasn't changed at all!" while the mother-like man sighed, nodding along with whatever his lover was saying. It wasn't good to upset Eiji anymore than this, knowing that he would continue whining more (that was, how Eiji was – being drunk and all).

He waved to both Fuji and Echizen, with a gentle smile on his face; excusing Eiji who was hugging his arm firmly. "It's good to see that both of you are well."

"Hai…and you two as well," Fuji patted Eiji's head as if he was small child, clinging to his mother. "He drank too much, ne?"

"Hai…Eiji wouldn't stop until Inui sneaked some of his Inui Juice in his fifth cup of sake, and that's when Eiji threw up…"

"I did not throw up!" Eiji disrupted, while his cheeks were flushing and his eyes narrowing, "I just spit it out 'cuz…I didn't like it, that's all!"

"Hai…hai…" Oishi sighed, then changing the topic. "So you guys came late, did anything happen?"

Echizen said nothing as he wandered his gaze elsewhere, while Fuji shook his head. "No, nothing really happened. It's just, I guess I forgot about the time…you know," he smiled again. "Well, hopefully we didn't miss anything. I didn't know that Momo would hold his party…here." When he ended with the word 'here', Oishi diverted his attention to glance around; nodding in agreement. The place where Momo held his party was on the tennis court of Seigaku Junior High school. "I wouldn't expect he'd throw his twentieth birthday here."

Oishi nodded, "But its nice coming back here…"

"Waiii…it is niiice…" Eiji interjected, slurring all his words.

"Eiji…you should lay down…"

"Iie! Nyaa, I'm having so much fun!"

"It's alright, this is a rare night," the tensai inquired, "so, where's the birthday boy?"

"Oh, Momo's somewhere…" Oishi glanced around, "I just saw him with Ann-san…"

Throughout the years, (Fuji noticed) that everyone in the Seigaku team had learned the name of 'Tachibana's sister'. Well some knew, while others didn't seem to care and remember; but after that incident with Momo getting suddenly married at nineteen, with 'Tachibana's sister', the name seemed to stuck in their heads. It was amazing though, how the result of Momo marrying could end up changing the Seigaku Regular's club. Especially with Momo, quitting tennis for his 'wife', and her, (not that it was anything selfish) but withdrew him from 'them', and the two caring for a baby. Yes, Fuji mused in his mind, a lot of things did happen when Momo married Tachibana's sister.

"Sou ka…" Fuji nodded understandably. "Ne Echizen, are you hungry?"

He waited for a few seconds, but the answer never came. Turning to look at his side, the black-haired boy had disappeared. "Aa…he left."

"Say…Fuji…is Echizen still okay, with what…happened?"

Oishi, he did live up to his reputation of being the mother of Seigaku. He cared too much for them.

"He's enduring it," Fuji stated. "Hopefully, little by little, he'll be able to get over it." He wasn't sure if what he said was right. He couldn't say something in the place of Echizen's well-being, even if they did live together. It had been two years after all, and a lot of things happened. Just because they lived together, didn't mean they understood each other. The thought made Fuji feel guilty, after all…didn't he take that lost kitten in, to care for him? All he could do was comfort him, lend him his shoulder and embrace him – telling him, hoping his words meant something; that 'everything was alright'. "But…I don't really know." His gaze fell, blue midnight eyes opened; tracing the sturdiness of the ground. "I hope, he can endure it…that is."

"I see…"

"Ne, Oishi something wrong with ochibi?" Eiji tilted his head in wonder.

"No…it's just…I'll tell you when you're not drunk."

"But I'm not drunk!" he argued.

Oishi gave up arguing with his drunkard friend, and pulled a smile. "I really hope, he'll be okay."

"Hai…"

-- -- -- -- --

"Momo-sempai."

Momoshiro turned around as he heard the familiar voice call him out. He forced a smile it seemed, "Echizen!"

"I…came."

"I'm glad. I haven't seen you in awhile."

His cap hung low, Echizen fidgeted with the objects in his short's pocket. He couldn't keep his cool in front of his senpai right now; it was hard maintaining his attitude already. Hoping to keep the conversation going, Echizen chose to ask a question. "How're you…and her?"

"We…we're doing great."

_Great…_

"I see." He searched his head for more words, then adding, "I'm glad."

Momo smiled, "It's nice…"

"Aa…"

Momo finally released the sigh. "Echizen…I, I…love her."

-- -- -- -- --

_"Echizen… I like you."_

_The confession earned a pair of blinking eyes. What did he say?_

_Momo blushed, fumbling with his words. "Well…you…I like you, seriously."_

_The second year looked at his senpai awkwardly, and nodded; acknowledging the confession, but didn't say anything further. With that done, it frustrated the taller boy and he pulled the smaller one back with his stronger force. Eyes linked, Echizen felt as if he was being pressured. Pressured by those strong-willed eyes, and it made him smirk. "Heh."_

_"Heh! After my confession to you, you give me a 'heh'!" _

_"Mou…senpai."_

_"Nani?" _

_"Do you mean it?"_

_There was a long pause. Then, he grinned; "I do."_

-- -- -- -- --

He kept his eyes on the road, but side glanced every now and then to see if his passenger was doing all right. Since they had departed the party (or probably even sooner than that), Echizen's mood had changed drastically. Not that he was happy at first, it just seemed like…he was more upset than usual. Fuji wanted to ask, but didn't dare pry into his business. It seemed really private, and he knew it had something to do with a certain tall married man.

"You didn't eat anything at the party. Do you want to go stop somewhere and eat?" Fuji suggested, car stopping by a red light.

"Wasabi sushi," he mumbled, though the answer was quite clear and fast.

"Hmm, sou ka… How about at Kawamura's sushi bar?" In the corner of his eyes, he saw Ryoma shrug, and he took that as a 'yes', so he turned a left. As he drove to their required destination, thoughts formed in the back of Fuji's head. Wasabi sushi? Didn't Echizen dislike wasabi? He'll figure out a safety plan to take the information out of Ryoma, sooner or later. Didn't they say keeping things in were bad? Well, for Echizen that is (other then that Fuji wanted to know what happened anyways).

It took approximately 10 or so minutes for them to reach their destination, and Fuji parked their car on the other side of the street. Echizen didn't say anything as he opened the car door, and went out. Fuji did the same, and they both walked inside the sushi bar Kawamura owned (or was passed down by his family). The browned-haired boy smiled as the ex-tennis player greeted them, swinging the cloth he was holding earlier over his shoulders.

"Fuji! Echizen!" He grinned (but Echizen had noted that Kawamura seemed to say Fuji's name more differently than his own). "You guys came here at a late time; did you guys have fun at Momo's birthday party?"

Fuji nodded, as they sat down at one of the empty tables. "Why didn't you come, Kawamura-kun?"

He blushed slightly as Fuji directed the question at him. "A-ano…just, today…my father had an important customer come by and I couldn't leave…" He stuttered shyly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Aa," Fuji smiled. "Well, we better order, ne?" He looked at Echizen, "What do you want to eat?"

"Anything…" he mumbled, avoiding seeing any of Kawamura's obvious affection toward the other man, which Fuji acted as if he didn't notice. Or maybe he was ignoring those affections, Echizen thought.

"Saa…you're making it difficult, Echizen," Fuji inquired. "Well,we'll leave it to you, Kawamura-kun." Kawamura gave him a confused look, and Fuji just chuckled. "I meant, just do any kind you like. Neither Echizen and I can really choose, so whichever you feel like making tonight, ne?"

"A-ah…hai," he blushed for misinterpreting Fuji's words. "Then, please wait." With that said; he retreated back behind the bar and started preparing the meal. As Kawamura disappeared, Fuji rested his hands on the table, eyeing the quiet boy in front of him.

"Ne, Echizen. You seem quiet, what's wrong?"

Echizen avoided making contact with Fuji's open eyes (or it was open before, until they entered the sushi bar). It was difficult to look at him, and he knew that with just one look, Fuji would be able to read out everything. That was how Fuji was, nothing ever changed. He was still the sadist that he was, always hiding under that façade. Echizen knew that he could never keep that up, if he didn't want to smile; he just didn't. It was better than hiding his true face, under that mask. It was pointless to tell Fuji that 'nothing happened', obviously something did. So there was only two ways to answer his question. One, the truth, or the second option, which was the usual 'doesn't say anything at all'. He knew though, if he was to say nothing, than Fuji would of course find out a way to get the information out of him. Wasn't it always like that?

"…Momo-senpai loves Tachibana's sister, doesn't he?"

The question was unexpected, but Fuji nodded truthfully. "Hai…"

Echizen grunted, "So that's how it goes."

Fuji smiled softly, knowing all too well that his words didn't show as much pain as the ache inside his heart. Then again, that was how he was then…and yet, sometimes now. It couldn't he helped, that was life. "Ne, Echizen-kun, I'm going to force you to drink sake if you give me that sad look."

This time, the other boy snickered. "And you, Fuji-senpai? I'll drown _you_ in sake, because you always show that sad look."

Fuji sighed, not daring to remark back. Echizen knew him too well, even through that smiling fascia of his. The silence was broken when Kawamura announced the sushi was finished, placing their meal down on the table. Fuji thanked him, and grabbed a roll for himself. Taking a bite out of one of the rolls, he smiled. "This is delicious, Kawamura-kun. Ne, try some Echizen." The twenty-year old man insisted, offering him a plate of the sushi he just took a bite of.

Echizen took a bite, and smirked. "Unh…"

-- -- -- -- --

For the past two years, Echizen Ryoma had lived with Fuji Syusuke. It wasn't like living with him was difficult. More likely, he was better off living with Fuji than anyone else – after that day that is. But he wouldn't admit it to Fuji, although his instinct told him that Fuji already knew, somewhere in that head of his. Throughout these years, Ryoma could not understand one thing about Fuji, and that was that fact that Fuji was hiding. Always smiling that smile of his, but he knew better. That wasn't a smile of Fuji Syusuke – it never was. Why though? Did he always fake a smile?

_Stop thinking about it…_

Echizen grumbled, not wanting to continue his trance of thoughts any longer, it was no good; especially when he was thinking about Fuji. _Why_ was he thinking about Fuji?

But thinking about Fuji only reminded him of the long-time question even he wanted to know: why did he wander to Fuji's house that night, two years ago? He didn't know why, but deep inside he was glad that he wandered here. Without Fuji, he knew that he wouldn't be able to face Momo since now. Nor without Fuji, was wouldn't be able to choose a future of being a professional tennis player. It was Fuji, it always ended up as Fuji.

Echizen sighed, this was ridiculous. Why was he thinking of Fuji again? He could imagine several other people thinking of Fuji Syusuke; example, Kawamura Takashi-senpai; the sushi-maker who now owned the Kawamura Sushi Bar, also an ex-tennis player from Sengoku Junior High School. He could tell that Kawamura-senpai liked Fuji-sempai for awhile now; maybe since his junior eyes (was it amazing?) Echizen shrugged, what was about Fuji that so many people fell into the palm of his hands? Even Tezuka fell in love with Fuji. Was it his sadistic ways? Was it that smile of his? Or his outer-appearance? "Heh…he does look like a girl."

Ryoma held up a tennis ball, which was scattered on the floor with several other tennis items and accessories. Fuji Syusuke, he was an interesting guy to think about.

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Tsuzuku**

**Author's Note:** waiii sorry, this chapter was difficult to write x.x saa...it's just, after reading what--? over fifty FujiRyo fanfiction and five (sadly) doujinshi's, I'm craving for more, nyahh...sadly though, this is all I can write. prepare for a lot of angsty, jealousy, drama, but spiffy romance 3 unh? gomen ne if characters are OC-ishy. well, Fuji isn't really a sadist in this story, and Echizen seems more cold than usual; demo -- maybe it's more angsty than romance O.o; well, we'll see in the next chapter; ne? review, onegai 3

**Disclaimer:** _In those Eyes_ © Nguyen Mimi


	2. Part II, emotions in us

**Disclaimer:** _The Prince of Tennis_ © Takeshi Konomi

**Author's Note:** hmm...first off -- nyaaa, arigatouu for the reviews x3 m'hmm. I know that the first chapter didn't really reveal any "fujiryo" love buttt just wait, you'll be satisfied later, ne? I'm trying to suspend their love for awhile, because it'll be too quick if I just pair them off right away; cus I know I'm the type to rush through stuff x.x hmm, well; did you guys notice? I have really...REALLY...hard times with writing summaries O.o and summaries are mainly the whole point to attract 'n interest fan-readers, ne? well, I know for one, cus I'm the type to judge a summary by the fanfiction, or a cover by a book. tsk tsk mimi-chan x.x

**Couples:** FujiRyo, slight TezuFuji and MomoRyo. One-sided SaekiFuji, SakuRyo

**Story-Note:** from the last chapter, you should've noticed that there's a nice big timeline between the section I wrote in chapter one. the first part when they were "graduating", Tezuka, Fuji, Inui, Eiji, Oishi, and Kawamura should be around 18 (3rd years in High School) while Kaidoh and Momoshiro are around 16/17, and Echizen 15/16 (first year). second part of the story, I titled "two years later", everyone should have graduated High School. the last part, "recent" I should say; everyone is a year older (note Momoshiro's 20th birthday). so everyone should be around 19-21. also, recently in the story was Momo's birthday, so the date should be marked around summer, precisely July 23rd. that might clear _some_ confusion, ne? the rest, just figure it out x3

'_Italics'_ – thoughts

'**Bold'** – headings, important speeches, radio or television broadcast

'Normal' – normal speeches

**Chapter Warning:** I'm not sure if it's really a 'bash', but to be on the safe sides for those fans – this chapter may have contents of Sakuno-bashing (reason is because after watching the whole series, I am VERY, VERYY tired of her). Though I'm not sure if it's beyond reasoning, _my thoughts_ of her, is that she is that she is a very annoying character. Excuse me.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

In those Eyes

**Part II**, emotions in us

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

Echizen groaned as he heard the sound of the phone ringing throughout the apartment. His door was open, so he figured that it was coming from the house phone, which was located in the living room. He wasn't sure how long it had been ringing, but for god sake, why didn't anybody answer it! Waiting patiently for the ringing to die out, his wish did not come true as the annoying ringing continued on. Where the hell was Fuji? He opened his eyes wide, his temper about to rise. Most likely the phone was for his room mate anyways, so he should be the one to pick it up. Yes, that's right; he told himself so, it was pointless to pick up a phone obviously for Fuji. Plus, it was a waste of strength to crawl out of bed and walk a few feet to the living room; way too much energy for a Saturday morning anyway.

A few seconds later, as he finished persuading himself to not pick up the phone; it still continued to ring. _What the heck?_

Suddenly, he heard it stop ringing. He let out a sigh of relief.

**Maa, gomen gomen. You have called the Fuji -- Echizen residence, but neither of us are here to pick up the phone. Please leave a message, and we'll surely call you back. Well, probably not Echizen but you know how he is.** A chuckle was heard from the voicemail, **Well, if it's really important then...** A pause, **mind to call later, 'kay? Well, ja ne; remember to leave a message.** It ended with another chuckle, and Echizen rolled his eyes. Fuji's voicemail was annoying, but it was always amusing to listen to it. Maybe that was why he never bothered to pick up the phone; he couldn't help but wonder how the sender would reply to such a message.

_"Hello? Fuji? Are you there?"_ Someone called -- whose voice Echizen clearly recognized; it wasn't like that person ever stopped calling. _"I guess you're already at the restaurant. Well, then, there's no point in leaving a message ne? Seeing I'm going to see you there anyways. But if you're at home, and unable to pick up the phone; which is much very likely you,"_ the comment made Echizen smirk,_ "then please remember to give me an answer. Ano…because these days I've been restless for an answer. I really would like to know, but--! I'm not rushing you to give me an answer…I just…want you to know…that's all…"_ the male began to murmur something, but it ended up as a whisper in the recording._ "Ah…well, I'll just see you at the restaurant, alright? Ja, Syusuke."_

"Huh…interesting," Ryoma grinned, showing amusement on his face. Saeki huh, when he said 'answer', he must've meant by how Fuji felt. Obviously though, Fuji would probably reject the white-haired tennis-player. That was how it always was. Fuji would never let anyone close to him; that was something he knew for sure. He never asked questions though, why Fuji was like that. It was like the tensai was always cautious, afraid that he would be leered into a dangerous trap. The boy shrugged, _whatever_, it wasn't like he couldn't read through the prodigy. He always could, because that was how obvious Fuji was; no matter how much confidence he relied on his fake face. Echizen had realized it by now, the flow of Fuji, and he was getting better on reading the fair haired-tensai.

He bet that even Tezuka didn't know Fuji as much as he did.

_Dangerous bargain, but who cares. _Ryoma rolled on his side, feeling the soft mattress under him shift under his weight. With his face toward his desk, he caught sight of the alarm clock. It hadn't even rung yet, but than again – it was Saturday after all. He made sure he had an hour or two more of sleep than usual; but sadly he had failed today. "Ugh…8:00?" He groaned, as he stuffed his face with his pillow; "Fuji-sempai should've picked up the phone."

"Saa…gomen Echizen," Fuji apologized, appearing at his open door. "I was busy in the showers; so I couldn't hear the phone ring. Who was it?"

"Saeki Kojirou," the full-awake grumpy nineteen-year old answered simply. "He left a message… but next time…you _have_ to pick up the phone." The addition to the statement was an order, and a soft chuckle from the genius was heard. Echizen wanted to glare, but missed eye-contact with Fuji as the standing boy turned around to leave; only to say "hai-hai".

"That's what you always say…" the younger prodigy mumbled.

-- -- -- -- --

"…I just…want you to know…that's all…"

BEEP.

The message ended shortly after, and Fuji scratched his head; wondering what to do. To go or not to go? It would be complicated, especially at this time. He sighed; he wasn't even sure about his feelings. He trusted Saeki, and knew very well that the white-haired tennis-player was serious…but, something was still attached to him. Fuji couldn't lay a finger on what he was still attached to, but he had a slight hint that he had something to do with the past. "Mou…no good at all," he told himself, folding his arms over his chest. The last thing he wanted was to hurt his childhood friend, and that would be either both ways; it wouldn't even matter if he chose the right path or the wrong. They would end up being hurt, and that wasn't the path he wanted.

"Standing there won't do you any good, Fuji-sempai."

Fuji turned his head see Echizen walking past him, hands stretched, folding behind his head. "If you don't know what to do, just tell him the truth."

No matter what, it seemed like Echizen's reasons were always best to follow. A smile spread on Fuji's face, and he turned around to walk out of their apartment, saying nothing; leaving a young man watching his back. Deep inside his head, Ryoma wondered if he said the right thing. He was sure that his senpai always doubted his feelings toward other people; but it would do no good to just to stand around thinking about it and than making a bad choice anyway, in the end. _It would be a waste of time_, he remarked to himself. Whatever Fuji wanted to do was up to him, he knew that he had no right (and no energy) to deal with the difficult tensai. After all, it was his fault for making people fall for him.

Before he realized it, he remembered that he was still standing at the doorway. Closing the door before anyone would notice how foolish he looked; he turned around to gaze across the apartment. It was surely empty, he realized for the first time. The only thing that attracted the eyes was the trophies aligned on the shelves, and merely tennis books and magazines. Then there were school and tennis pictures displayed on walls, while the normal house accessories remained scattered within the living room; example a family and love sofa, a T.V, coffee table. Everything looked normal, but there were gaps here and there; like the room was too big to be filled – yet they both knew that they couldn't just close the remaining space. To put it simple, his thoughts still remained that this apartment _did_ look empty.

"Tch, wonder how empty this place was before I came," he told himself. The only thing he remembered three years ago when he first entered Fuji Sysuke's apartment was a couch and television. To think that the tensai had little taste than that. He recalled in junior high when Fuji told the team that if he ever had a house, he would decorate it western-style; because their cultural taste caught his interest. Ryoma had wondered where that thought went. Suddenly, after he came to live, the question came up one morning.

"Fuji-sempai, why is your living room so empty?"

After that, when he had came home from an inter-ranking match, the living room had some-what changed. There were more items and decorations, and slowly they began to display their trophies they had won from tournaments. They had more items placed around the room, and Echizen remembered what Fuji said that day; "Ne, doesn't this look more comfy?"

"So typical of Fuji-sempai," he muttered. His thoughts were yet about Fuji, and with that, he wondered about how the tensai was doing a few miles away, dealing with a certain white-haired idiot.

RING. RING.

Echizen blinked, as his eyes wandered off to the cordless phone lying on the kitchen table. Who would've called now? Fuji was gone, dammit. Call him when he was home. He began to mentally criticize the phone, or specially: the person who was calling. But before he knew it, the phone continued to ring; just like this morning. He was about to grip on the phone and throw it across the room in irritation, but realized that Fuji would just scowl at him. _You're lucky_, he glared.

RING.

The thing he hated doing the most at home was pick the house phone. He knew that if anybody needed him, they would call his cell phone, he had told everybody that beforehand too. As his hand neared touching the receiver, the thought of picking it up or not shot through his head. What was the point of picking up the phone? If he didn't pick it up, they would think he went somewhere and no one was home; so they could leave a message or call again. Yes, that was common sense. But than the negative thoughts came, what if it was an emergency? What if someone was looking for him? No, that was what mobile phones were for. Then again…

Echizen groaned, giving up on his thoughts affairs. It was hopeless thinking about it, and than making a wrong choice. Didn't he tell Fuji that? Was Fuji rubbing on him? Or was he rubbing on himself? He ignored his thoughts as he quickly gripped the phone and pressed the certain button to open the communication line. Before he had the chance to say 'hello', a hurried voice beat him to it.

"Moshi moshi? Ano…" the girlish voice surprised him. _Fuji can attract both sexes_, the thought instantly took a toll, maybe it was better that Fuji was gay.

The girl on the other line was hesitating a lot, and he was about to hang up on her before she let out another shy remark once again. "A-ano…may…I speak with Ryoma-kun…?" Ryoma? Wasn't that him? He blinked a couple of times, before he opened his mouth to respond. Hm, it seemed like some people didn't follow his direction of calling his personal phone. Who was this person? It didn't seem like he would give his number to some girl like this, especially if she was a fan girl. Of course, he would punish whoever leaked out his number; the harsh example was demonstrated on Kikumaru-senpai years ago. The flashback almost made him grin; just thinking of Kikumaru tied to a tree with his own number stamped on note-pads all over him was a funny image if so.

"Eto…moshi?"

"Who are you?"

"A-ano…I'm…its Sakuno…Ryuzaki Sakuno," she repeated timidly.

Sakuno? The name was familiar, but it didn't flicker any remembrance. "Ryuzaki Sakuno? How'd you get my number?" He questioned this while leaning against the wall lazily. He wasn't even sure if he knew who this girl was, but her name did remind him of someone; just he couldn't place a finger on it. He waited patiently for an answer, while doing so he searched his memory of this name. Where did he hear the name 'Sakuno' before? Eyes slanting upward in curiosity, he wondered if she was still listening, as there was nothing but silence on the other line.

"Ah…I…" she began to stutter, "I-I…heard that you lived with Fuji-san, and…ano…Tomo-chan seemed to have his number…so…that's how…" indeed, such a simple answer became so complicated to understand. He sighed, giving up on what she meant; all he could catch on was Fuji's name; so that's how.

"Aa…" was all that came out of his mouth.

"Ryoma-kun…"

"Did you call for a reason?" He frowned as he impatiently pushed himself from the wall, walking to the living room. He didn't like talking on the phone, and talking to a girl was the last thing he would've expected to do on that list; especially when this one said his name so casually, like they were best-friends. Still, it wasn't something he would give a care about – it was just that he knew he had better things to do than talk to her. Like for instance, play tennis. It was already half past eight, and the sun was clearly out in the sky. All he could think of doing was playing tennis, better than straying around the apartment all day.

"I…" her voice lowered, as if embarrassed. "Eto…would you like to go out and eat lunch together, Ryoma-kun…?"

_Eh?_

He scratched his temple; did a stranger just ask him out to lunch? Ryuzaki Sakuno, for the most details, asked him? _Ryuzaki_, now that he thought about it again, that seemed to ring a bell. Where did he hear that surname before?

_Ryuzaki-sensei?_ Oh right, his junior high tennis coach. That old hag that was grandmother to that one girl…wasn't her name _Sakuno?_ His eyes widened, realizing as the puzzles fit perfectly. Of all people, he would least expect her to call. Especially when she seemed so timid and shy in those days, she couldn't pull courage to call him all these years. The boy suspected that something was behind this, or more, something had happened.

The idea of going to lunch with her didn't please him, but what could he do? If he went, he could hit two birds with one stone. One, get a pleasant meal, and the second, figure out what was behind all of this. Of course, him being Echizen Ryoma (after dealing with a sadistic all these years, he was confident at these situations), he was sure he would be able to do it. This was more interesting than playing tennis, or lying around the apartment lazily.

"Ahh…what about it…R-Ryoma-kun?"

"Sure," he answered, feeling the need to rush with the plan. "What time?"

There was a small gasp on the other line, and it was obvious that she tried to cover her mouth but failed, as he heard it clearly. She didn't expect that the professional tennis-player would agree to such a thing, but inside she was delighted. "Oh! Um, how about in half an hour, Ryoma-kun? A-At…" there was a gap of silence suddenly. Then he heard a bunch of small "hmms" and "ahhs" but nothing in particular that told him an answer to their destination. He was at his limit of holding the phone, and he hoped that she realized that too. "Ah! Ryoma-kun, w-why not go to…that one Korean BBQ that just opened up? Ne?"

Ryoma took a deep breath, "…alright. Well, I'll see you there then, ja," he quickly responded to her joyous invitation and clicked on the phone. Tch, girls were seriously annoying in some, or rather a lot of ways. Maybe that was why he chose to be gay too? Odd though, Momo-senpai was gay, but he turned straight; didn't he? The bitter thought made him reveal a wry smile, yes…it was true; in the end, there could always be a change of heart. He recalled Sakuno confessing to him years ago, at the end of Junior High. She was persistent, he had noted; she would never give up no matter what, until it was the last day of school. It was until than that he told her he didn't like her, and that he was already interested in someone else that she stopped coming after him. Obviously, she had stopped until _now_ for some reason.

Echizen shook his head, _whatever._ Just go with the flow, right? Then he paused, a certain brunette appearing in his mind. _Heh, I wonder what Fuji-sempai's up to._

-- -- -- -- --

_"A-Ano…" Sakuno, third year of Seishun Gakuen_ _Junior High flustered madly in front of a boy, slightly taller than she was. She avoided looking at him straight in the eye, but it seemed impossible as she felt his eyes on her. She knew that he could predict what would happen next; she could even imagine her face at that moment. It was probably as red as a tomato, how embarrassing, she thought._

_"A-Ano…Ry-Ryoma-kun…" the suspense in the statement only made him more irritated. He didn't like standing there for no reason, especially when he had time playing tennis. It was too early, and hanging around here would just waste time. _

_"What is it?" He sternly questioned her, eyes locked; revealing his serious golden irises. "Do you need anything?"_

_"I-I…" she stuttered again. "Ano…" another blush, "I…like you…R-Ryoma-kun…"_

_He raised an eyebrow, "Aa."_

_'Aa'? Of all her life, this was the first guy to give her such an answer. Actually, this was her first time confessing to someone, but still…she didn't expect him to give her an 'Aa', maybe 'sou ka' or 'really?'…but instead, he just responded 'Aa'. What was wrong with him? Her eyes surprisingly grew larger, as if hurt by the comment. Echizen looked at her confused, and she knew that he didn't notice. Of course, Echizen Ryoma was dense, maybe he didn't know about girls loves were yet, she tried to convince herself of this fact. Yes, maybe he wasn't ready? That was why he gave her such an answer…that had to be it._

_"Ryoma-kun…I really like you! All these years…I even joined the tennis club…for you…"_

_He looked away, staring at the tennis courts. _

_"R-Ryoma-kun…"_

_"Sorry, but I don't… can't like you." He hoped that it was all he needed to say._

_"Na…Nani? Nande!" Her eyes widened, "Ryoma-kun…" She doesn't give up, does she?_

_"I like someone else."_

_She gasped. "Is it…is it Tomo-chan…?"_

_Of course not!_

_"No."_

_His last reply was cold, and hint of annoyance. She understood this, and just shook her head smiling. "I see…well, thanks for hearing me out…Ryoma-kun."_

-- -- -- -- --

"Syusuke…"

Fuji tilted his head to the side, staring directly at the man who murmured his name. "It's difficult to make these kinds of decisions," was all he knew to say at that moment.

The brown-haired tennis player regained his smile once again, and stood up from his seat. He didn't say anything else, but just looked at the other twenty-one year old, with a remorseful expression; eyes once again closed shut. "Ne, when I realize my true feelings, I'll tell you. Trust my words, Kojirou." He nodded, and hoped that his companion understood as well. He knew how Saeki felt, because all these years – he didn't let the boy's feeling go unnoticed. He could've accepted those feelings when Tezuka had left, but something had pulled him back. Deep inside, he knew what had chained him back from making a right choice; but the reason was pointless to begin with. That person was too, broken; so how could two broken people help repair them selves? His inner chortled, that's right; how could they heal each other, when both of them wouldn't even accept being healed?

Fuji waited for a response from Saeki, each second passing by making him think of any possibility that his words didn't reach the male in front of him. It was when the other man nodded that Fuji heaved a sigh of relief, stretching his smile once more. "That's good."

This time, Saeki stood up as well; looking at the person he admired the most straight in the eye, "I'll wait for you…no matter what."

The confession startled Fuji, _so stubborn_. "S-Saeki…"

Saeki grinned, flashing a toothless smile. "Well, we'll see my fortune…I'm not sure if it'll come true but," he came back to his optimistic self, "for now, deal with my feelings, Syusuke. I'm sure my feelings won't be returned, either if Tezuka comes back or not, but I'm sure there's also one more person that might take you away from me." He sighed, shaking his head sadly. "I guess it'll be okay, I won't give up though, Syusuke-kun. I know, ONE DAY, you will truly recognize my feelings and accept me, ne?"

The straightforward statement made Fuji chuckle, accepting that fact slightly. "Hai, hai, whatever you say Kojirou."

"Mou, be serious Syusuke," Saeki demanded, palms resting flatly on the table. "See, 'cus Echizen's right there on a date! He's taking his date _seriously_," the man pointed out.

Fuji's head turned to look at where Saeki had set his eyes at, to only catch sight of his fellow roommate walking with someone; what surprised him more was that he was walking with a _woman_. "Hmm…" he rubbed his chin, "She does look pretty…"

"And I thought you would be jealous," his friend snickered.

"Maybe I am."

"Ehh?" Saeki blinked, "No way." His previous reply was supposed to be a joke, but he didn't know Fuji would take it seriously and answer it. _No way, don't tell me I was right._ Now _he_ was jealous for Fuji being jealous over Echizen going out with some woman. _Damn, that's not right._

"Hm…why don't we spy on them, Kojirou?" The tensai suggested, beginning to take his leave. He didn't even wait for the other man to answer as he simply began to stroll out of the restaurant. Realizing what had happened, Saeki groaned. _He left me with the bill._

It took a few minutes for Saeki to catch up with Fuji, after paying for their food, which he realized was really expensive. After Saeki had caught up, they had tailed the other two into a Korean restaurant, to be more specific: a barbeque bistro.

Who would've thought that they would come in here for a date? "I didn't know Echizen turned straight."

"He didn't," Fuji regarded to Saeki's sudden thoughts. "Or I don't think so."

"Eh?" The taller man cocked an eyebrow. Really now, even Fuji didn't know if their precious baby had turned back to being straight or not? Maybe he had chosen to be bisexual, which was reasonable. The woman he was with seemed pretty anyways, it wouldn't be a surprise if Echizen really was interested in the tits and the ass. "Seems like—"

"Seems like what?" Fuji's eyes opened to reflect dangerous blue orbs. Saeki shivered at the sight of an upset Fuji, closing his mouth quickly as he didn't dare finish his sentence. Eh, he was surely pissed for some reason. _Che, could he really have fallen for this chibi?_ Saeki thought, doubting the words running through his mind. What was he thinking anyways? He was supposed to doubt. DOUBT! There was no way he would give up Fuji to this…bisexual runt -- even if he was a prodigy that was really good at tennis…Saeki sweat dropped, _I should have confidence!_ He couldn't feel down just because Echizen was a good tennis player, Fuji wouldn't judge a guy by the racket, right?

"Their sitting down, we should too." Fuji considered, ignoring the waiter who held out two menus for them, excusing their rudeness of ignoring what he just said earlier when they had entered. They just leisurely walked past him and sneaked into one of the empty seats of the tables near where Ryoma and his 'mysterious' date sat. Fuji took out a pair of sunglasses (which Saeki wondered where he got it from) and hid his eyes under the black lenses. Saeki sighed; Fuji was being persistent on spying on his room mate, and if they were lucky – they might not get caught. Well, judging Fuji, he wasn't always rational, right? Saeki frowned, the tennis-genius wouldn't just crash the restaurant if he overheard and misinterpreted something Echizen would say, right? He tried to imagine the situation in his mind, and it only caused him to shiver. _I'm watching too much drama these days._

"They're talking." Fuji's alerted voice instantly snapped him out of his thoughts.

_Ehh…here we go,_ Saeki told himself nervously.

-- -- -- -- --

"I-Is something wrong, Ryoma-kun?"

Echizen looked around once again, and shook his head. "No…just felt like we were being followed."

"Well…you are a profession tennis-player," she inquired, "It wouldn't be strange if a reporter or someone was following you…"

"Maybe," the young prodigy stated. "Well, why did you ask me out to lunch?" He rested his body against the soft cushioned seat, and moved his right hand towards the glass of water in front of him. Once again, he felt himself getting impatient as she continued to waver and stutter as she spoke to him. Really, was it really that difficult to speak to him? He took the ice cold drink and drank half of the fluid down, waiting for her to give him a good answer. _Three years and she hasn't changed at all._

"Ah…well…" she fidgeted with the material of her skirt, "It's been awhile, ne? I haven't seen you in awhile…so I thought we could spend time eating…lunch together…" she blushed at the embarrassing explanation. "A-and…ano…"

"Eh? So that's all?" He sighed, "And I thought there was more to it."

What he said made her look down, her eyes trembling as if fear of letting out tears. "You're…always the same!"

He shrugged, not caring at what she meant. "So are you." Taking another gulp of his drink, the waiter arrived and placed down two menus, one set in front of them. Echizen opened up his and searched through the different cuisines that he would like to order, as Sakuno didn't even touch hers. She just stared at the man in front of her with hurtful eyes, face flustered as if she realized how stupid she was. Finally, the tennis-player gave out his choice of the meal and he turned to look at the female questionably. "Aren't you going to eat?"

"Huh?"

"I asked…aren't you going to order something?"

At last, she noticed what he meant and turned deep crimson. "Ah! Sumimesen…" Quickly turning the pages of the menu, she randomly picked a meal and gave the number order to the waiter. Echizen looked at his own menu to see what she ordered, and blinked a few more times, surprised.

"You…like that?"

"Na-Nani?" Sakuno looked at him confused. "What do you mean?"

"You ordered number 12, right?" He pointed at his own menu, "I didn't know you liked Chili Sauce Sashimi Noodle."

"Chili Sauce Sashimi Noodle…" the brown-haired girl read from the restaurant book, "a cold sweet potato noodle with sashimi in spicy chili sauce…" it took a second or so for the description to sink in. Finally, her eyes widened and she let out a loud surprised "EH!" making Ryoma smirk, finally feeling entertained. It would be more interesting if she went with her order.

"Why don't you try it?" Echizen Ryoma suggested. He smiled as if dared her to do so.

"Eh? D-Demo…"

"Hmm…not up for it?" His eyes flashed, making her blush under his gaze. There was no choice, if she backed down now, she would be humiliated.

"Well…" she muttered something within the words "nasty" and "cruel", but nodded as she made up her mind. "A-Alright…"

"Interesting," The mischievous boy smirked. "Yosh, we'll see if it's good or not."

-- -- -- -- --

"Echizen's cruel," Saeki muttered to his companion; who was spying intensely on the couple a few tables away. They weren't that far away, as they could hear the conversation, but that wasn't enough for them to understand the situation that was going on. They had eliminated the thought of Echizen going on a 'date' with her, because if they did; he wouldn't force her to try out such a meal she (or what her face revealed) did not like. Obviously he was just killing time.

_How typical of him…_Fuji snickered, blue hues gleaming as he remained eyeing them.

"Our suspicions have been confirmed…ne Syusuke? Let's go now…"

He tugged Fuji's sleeve shirt, but the man just moved his arm away and continued to look at his fellow friend, who was gazing amusingly at the girl. Who was this girl anyways? He didn't remember Ryoma mentioning that he had meant a new girl, unless he had kept a secret about this? Fuji's eyes narrowed further, evidently feeling jealous at the fact that Ryoma had acquainted with such a female and did not even mind mentioning it. Ryoma didn't even say anything about 'going out' this morning either… did Fuji's position in his mind really rank that low to not be notified at all? The contemplation gave him an urge to do something nasty; or more, something very distressful.

"A-ahh…S-Syusuke," Saeki stuttered, frightened at the genius's deadly expression. "It's just a…misunderstanding…" he knew that Fuji didn't hear him out though, as the young man began to vanish from where he sat and then appearing magically to the next table nearer to Echizen and that woman. The technique shocked Saeki, and his own naïveté almost made him get caught. _Damn that Echizen_, the man cursed as he carefully sneaked to the next table, in a hopefully not suspiciously-un-caught manner. _I shouldn't have pointed out to Fuji that Echizen was here…shit,_ he cursed. Today proved as such a calamity. He wasn't going to trust the daily horoscope anymore.

-- -- -- --

"You're orders have arrived," the waiter appeared with a tray carrying their meals. By the looks of it, he was Korean, and he had that Korean accent that annoyed Ryoma. Ignoring such trivial, he straightened up and looked down at the bowl of what he had ordered. Well, compared to Sakuno's - it looked delicious and fit his taste buds. The amusement of watching her eat cold spicy noodles made him look forward to it. A slight tinge of guilt surfaced though, but he disregarded it, knowing that living with Fuji gave him such behaviors and habits. Well, it wasn't him, himself, to blame, so he didn't need to spare a second thought about it.

With all the hilarity of watching Sakuno poke her noodles, Ryoma did not notice a certain tensai watching them, along with a wary white-headed gentlemen right behind him. If he did, he would've been surprised at what kind of intense and amusing gaze the fair-haired man had casted on them. For Fuji, this meeting was interesting. He had been more entertained by the fact that Echizen might've been influenced by him with his humorous ways (the habit by far anyone would consider funny) but yet, enjoyable to the engrossed eyes. Yes, this was quite interesting, making Fuji want to add a bit of more flavor to it. Saeki, who was spying from behind his shoulder, shivered at the atmosphere Fuji was emitting. Something bad was going to happen, he could feel it.

"A-Ano…" Sakuno turned red, out of discomfort that is. She looked down at her bowl of cold sashimi noodle, and then back at Ryoma. "Suddenly I feel full…"

As she tried to back down, Echizen continued to eat his fried pork "Really? But I thought you asked me out to lunch because you were hungry too."

She flushed. "Well, just looking at it made me full already, eheh…and," her face remained red, "um…I'm sorta…on a diet."

Saeki whistled silently, _to admit such a thing; she must really not want to eat it._ He was about to say this aloud to Fuji, but to realize that once again, his friend had disappeared. Now where did he go?

Suddenly, he moved his questionable eyes back to Echizen and the girl, to only catch sight of a waitress with brown hair. Wait…his eyes widened in shock AND surprise, his stomach fluttering crazy. As the waitress continued to walk towards the table he had kept watch on, he swore he saw the 'girl' had opened her eyes, to reveal stunning blue irises (also a bit of scariness). He felt his body go numb as he slumped in his seat, mouth hanging slightly open to recognize who that waitress really was. In her hand, she held something that made Saeki understand what was going to happen next. _He truly is a sadistic person…_Saeki felt himself finally understand part of Fuji's nature.

-- -- -- -- --

Sakuno finally gave up making an excuse to not eat the meal she had ordered. Instead, she changed the subject to occupy the man in front of her from thinking that she needed to try this (nasty, not welcoming) dish. She then stopped fidgeting, and thought of what Tomo-chan had told her before she had even called Ryoma that very morning. It was something about being shy and timid, something that if she continued to hesitate then Ryoma would get annoyed with her. From what was going on so far, she could feel that he _was_ getting irritated with her for all her shy stammers. But it wasn't her fault! It was his fault for making her act like that, she tried to blame. Even so…Sakuno looked at Ryoma eating his food once more, the feelings she had tried to suppress all these years suddenly fleeting, making her blush every time he laid eyes on her…making her stutter every time he spoke to her... She couldn't help but still like him…

_Tomo-chan's right…I should tell him that I like him…after all, Momo-sempai got married, didn't he? That means Ryoma-kun doesn't like him anymore…so…_She felt hope flicker, _I have to do this!_ She just had to tell him, that was what this date was for, right? Well, hopefully Ryoma considered this a date…it was better than that one time in junior high when her grandmother made them go downtown to fix her tennis racket. Though she was happy about it…nothing really happened…_That was then, this is now._

"Ne…Ryoma-kun…"

"Hm?" He looked up at her, halting the pork he was holding with his chopstick from propping in his mouth. "What is it?"

"I…I-I like you Ryoma-kun…"

He almost choked the meat which he was just chewing. She had confessed to him again, what should he do? He didn't even like her, and he hoped all those years of ignoring her would do some good. But no, instead…she came back and told to him that she had still liked him. This time though, he couldn't give his regular "…" or "Aa", because he was sure that something had changed in her…that made her deny anything he would say. He felt as if this time, she wouldn't walk away like she did many years before. She was going to wait for an answer. Did "I don't like you" or "I'm not interested" persuade her to go away?

Suddenly, when he was about to open his mouth, he felt cold liquid splash against his chest. The water seeping through his collar shirt, and against his skin, making him redirect his attention.

The waitress gasped an apology and quickly took out a napkin to absorb the water. She lowered her head in the process, so Echizen couldn't see her face. He said nothing, and Sakuno also helped to dry the liquid which was splattered on him. He moved away, and they stopped, understanding that he did not need the help. "No thanks," was what he said. He grabbed the napkin in front of him and cleaned himself, while the other two just looked at him.

The waiter once again apologized.

He shook his head as if it was nothing, and he looked up to see a pair of blue eyes.

He felt as if his heart suddenly stopped.

"What the hell, _Fuji-sempai?_" The tennis-player's eyes widened in surprise, and he felt as if he was gawking at the man dressed in a waitress's outfit. If he didn't know better, he would've thought Fuji really was a girl. Then again, Fuji did have a lot of feminist being a man, but _still_. What was he doing here, dressed as a waitress, right in front of him? Suddenly he felt like he was being tricked. He gradually realized that the waiter incident was no 'mistake' and he had fallen into Fuji's cruel plan of amusement (although he was some-what glad that he was able to avoid giving Ryuzaki an answer to her confession).

Sakuno on the other hand, did not catch on. She was shocked at the fact that as she looked head to toe at the waitress, the feminism of this waitress did not look at all like the male Fuji. Maybe it was because Fuji was dressed in a waitress's uniform that they could easily pass Fuji as a woman. The only proof they could tell that he wasn't a woman was the flat chest and the some-what muscled calves. Still, the appearance of Fuji shocked her, even though she hadn't seen him in many years other then magazines and anything related to the tennis-world. The sight of Fuji like this only made questions bubble up in her head. Did he work here? Was he cross dress? What was going on? He sure did look pretty though…

A man with white hair, over a layer of black finally appeared behind 'Fuji' suddenly. "Ahahah…sorry for the bother Echizen-kun," Saeki apologized. "We were doing just _fine_, until--,"

"Maybe its better if _Fuji_ explained," Ryoma scowled -- feeling a dreadful feeling as Fuji smiled innocently. Innocent. _Innocent my ass_. Fuji was far, far from being innocent. He leaned back against his seat, forgetting that Ryuzaki-sensei's granddaughter was even there as he waited for an explanation from Fuji. The outfit on Fuji really did bring out all his femininity, Echizen had noted. The look was…tempting. He shook his head, erasing that thought. _What the hell._ He knew that Fuji did that on purpose, he knew that for Fuji, everything was going as planned. Even though he knew this, he couldn't help but look at Fuji.

"Echizen seems to have a nice time looking at me though," Fuji exclaimed, continuing to smile.

This time, the youngest of the group blushed. He drew his eyes away quickly and tried to deny it by snorting. "Why would I be checking you out, Fuji-sempai? Now why are you dressed like that, and standing right here? I thought you were out on a date with that man right behind you." Saeki frowned, while Fuji chuckled.

"Maa…" the moderate voice only proved his true gender. "I just felt like…dressing like this. I wanted to see your reaction, that's all. Your self-confident and cool face, I wanted to see what it would look like seeing me…like this." His tone was deep and husky; eyes flashing with enjoyment seeing Ryoma react with such words. If Ryoma knew Fuji any better, he would've thought that Fuji was trying to seduce him. Well, he did know Fuji, but the thought just…seemed wrong. Or maybe to him, that is. That was why; he couldn't fall into Fuji's games any longer. He lowered his head, so the cap would shadow his eyes as much as it could, and he just muttered a "forget it". If it carried out any longer, the game might get dangerous. Fuji was the type to enjoy these things, and he would as go far as traumatizing a person the rest of his life. Yes, that was rather true.

"I see…hmm, why Ryoma…why don't we go somewhere?" Fuji's eyes were opened the whole time.

"F-Fuji!"

"Now, now." Fuji patted Saeki's shoulder, "you can come along as well, you too Ryuzaki-san." He glanced over at the confused girl with careful eyes, finally identifying who this woman was. He finally understood why he couldn't recognize her the first time he saw her walking with Ryoma, and the whole time they were watching the back of her head. She had grown, more likely into a "woman" version of the Sakuno in the school days (though after Junior High, he never really saw her anymore). She had…changed. Well, she still wore her traditional braids, but only this time she had breasts and seemed taller. There was still innocence radiating around her, which almost made things more fun. He just couldn't resist.

Ryoma groaned, standing up. "No thanks. I'll be going home now."

Sakuno protested, but Ryoma ignored her as he walked away. He didn't even turn to look back at Fuji, but he could imagine that the other man was smirking, victoriously. God, the image of Fuji like that only stirred more unnecessary feelings.

-- -- -- -- --

It was that night, that Fuji approached him about the matter.

"Ne, how did I look wearing that outfit?"

The image emerged in his mind, making him flush. "Too girlish for your average male," he responded.

"Aa," a sound of movement, and then the shuffling of clothes stopped. "Maa, Ryoma-kun…what were you doing with Ryuzaki-san today?"

The question only made him twitch. "I was bored, and she was inviting…so I thought I would spend some time going out today."

"Oh really…" Was it him, or did he catch a tone of jealousy? Finally, he was about to turn around to face the tensai when he felt warm arms wrapped over his shoulders.

Ryoma turned around to dissent this action, surprised by what Fuji was doing. He found it too late as a hand covered his eyes and he was pulled back. Suddenly, a brush of lips met his, and he felt his face burn. The feeling of Fuji's lip against his, he stopped moving under his sempai.

Although the kiss was rather quick, he still felt a tinge of warmness left behind as their lips parted, and then both Fuji's hand was released from him. Fuji just smiled while standing up, and Ryoma opened his mouth to question his actions, but Fuji laughed. "Ne, doesn't it feel like lips when you do this?" He pinched his two fingers together as they touched Ryoma's mouth. He chortled and retreated back out into the hallway, leaving Ryoma to himself to think of what just happened.

_But…_he stared at his hands, _didn't Fuji cover my eyes with his left…and_, he turned to focus on his own left hand, _didn't he hold this arm with his right hand?_ His thought startled him, so Fuji _did_ kiss him. He felt himself go numb, and stormed out of his room.

"Fuji!"

The brunette turned around, and laughed. He pulled his index finger to his lip, hushing him quietly; as if meaning to keep this incident a secret.

_Its mada mada dane for you, Ryoma._

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Tsuzuku**

**Author's Note:** haha...I like this chapter. it was...amusing if you say the most. well, the last scene I was inspired to write by a certain doujin, so I included it in this story. it was...CUTE. but don't expect their relationship to start any time soon. I think that their going to face more hardships (well mostly Ryoma, being tortured by Fuji and all) but still, there's still going to be lots of fun x3 nyah! oh yeah, the "Sakuno" moment. hmmm, I think I'll get rid of her by the next chapter. sorry! I just really don't like her. ah, and thank you for the wonderful reviews. I really appreciated them keep them up, and they'll reallyyy inspire me to write more, cus I know there's some fans out there reading this story, ne ne? hehe, as an author I am...I'm going to give you all a glimpse of the next chapter!

**Chapter Preview -- **Part III: He sighed, and Ryoma took this as a time to let go. He loosened his grip, and just turned away angrily; though the traces of the previous incident washing off his face, masking a face as if nothing had happened for the new arriving guest. Though, he didn't expect his guest to be someone that would surprise both Fuji... and him, as well. Maybe that was why he regretted that he let Fuji go, to open the door. If only he knew what was to happen next, he might've stopped the event from occurring.

"Te…Tezuka…?"

Ryoma's head shot upward as he heard Fuji whisper that name, as the door creaked open revealing their bochou.

**Disclaimer:** _In those Eyes_ © Nguyen Mimi


	3. Part III, nothing said, nothing done

**Disclaimer:** _The Prince of Tennis_ © Takeshi Konomi

**Author's Note:** mou, nothing said.

**Couples:** FujiRyo, slight TezuFuji and MomoRyo. One-sided SaekiFuji, SakuRyo

'_Italics'_ – thoughts

'**Bold'** – headings, important speeches, radio or television broadcast

'Normal' – normal speeches

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

In those Eyes

**Part III**, nothing said, nothing done

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

The feeling of warm lips against his, the brief sharing of affection… The feeling remained, surfacing every now and then, since the past month. Their untold secret, shared between them without saying a single word. That fateful night; the incident still haunting his memories. He couldn't help but rethink of what had happened. The confusion of his sempai's action. He yearned for the truth behind such behavior, but he didn't have the voice to speak and ask such a simple question like that. Maybe because he knew that Fuji wouldn't answer him. He would just shake his head as if bemused at the fact that Ryoma wanted to know behind that simple kiss. That was how Fuji was, always pushing people to the line of sanity.

"You seem to be thinking a lot."

Ryoma raised his head to the speaker. The voice of the man that spoke to him, made him twitch. Momoshiro was the last person he wanted to chat with.

"Hey, what's wrong?" The taller, some-what older man asked while taking a seat next to Ryoma, "Something bothering ya?"

Ryoma remained silent, fiddling with his wrist band. It was, awkward to say the most, to speak with Momoshiro. The situation at hand wasn't easy to speak of, especially when Fuji told him not to tell anyone about it. Wait; had Fuji actually told him to not discuss this with anyone else? All he remembered Fuji doing was silencing him, but he didn't say anything else. But still…Ryoma sighed with aggravation. They had made an unspoken truce. Even though he was still confusedat what had happened… he didn't like sharing such matters with anybody else when he wasn't even sure himself of what happened. At the moment, what was really bothering him…? The kiss… or Fuji himself?

"Mou, its Momoshiro and Ochibi!" Kikumaru's holler of acknowledgement rang to their ears. Ryoma lowered his head further as it already was, trying to act as if he didn't know the redhead, but before they knew it; Eiji appeared before them with a wide smile. "Hoh ho! I wouldn't expect you guys to be here! Ne Oishi!"

Oishi, who was far behind, walked up to his hyperactive other half, and tried to force a casual smile, "Yeah, we didn't expect you guys to be here."

Momo laughed, "I guess we're all up for burgers, huh?" He patted Echizen, which seemed more forceful than just a 'pat'. The smaller boy yelped out in pain, and glared at his sempai; moving a seat away irritably.

"Jeeze! Ochibi seems more…moody than usual!"

Gaze caught gaze.

"…Am not," he frowned.

"Yes you are! Smile ochibi, smile! What's wrong! Is Fuji bothering you?"

Fuji… He prevented a groan from coming out of his mouth. It was true though, Fuji _was _bothering him. In a way he would never expect.

"Eiji, keep down!" Oishi murmured, hushing his lover down so they wouldn't attract any other attention. It was too late though, as other people were already focusing their attention on them. It was hard to not get noticed whenever Kikumaru Eiji was around. Very difficult to say the least…and it was rather embarrassing.

"Maa ne, but Ochibi's bothered! Tell us Ochibi!"

"I don't want to."

"Then that means you _are_ bothered by something! Ku ku! Tell us, tell us!"

"Oi, Kikumaru-sempai, keep down!" Momo rashly stated, bowing his head low, mortified at the scene they were causing.

"Ei-Eiji…keep down…"

"Demo…Oishi! We should help Ochibi!"

"…but…he just left…"

"WHAT! Nyahh, OISHI, WHY DID YOU LET HIM LEAVE?" Eiji was strangling Oishi now. "We could've helped him, you know! He looked really, really bothered! Nyuuu!"

Momo carefully tried to escape, but even though Kikumaru was occupied with Oishi, he grabbed onto Momoshiro's collar with his other hand. "YOU CAN'T LEAVE MOMO!"

"B-But…Kikumaru-sempai…" a hint of whining from the other boy, pleading to be released, "I-I'm…going to find Echizen for you!" The excuse was lame, but Eiji's grasp on him seemed to have loosened.

"Mou, you're not going to run away, are you!"

"N-No! Not at all!"

Eiji eyed his fellow friend suspiciously. "Maa, you better be telling to truth! I have Oishi here, so you can't lie to me!"

Momo looked at Oishi pitifully, the expression on his face telling the mothering boy, 'so sorry Oishi but I just gotta get out of here.'

"Alright, I _swear_," Momo easily lied.

The red head seemed contented and believed Momo's word, so he let go. Without a second to lose, Momo stepped back and headed to the door, shouting back, "GOMEN KIKUMARU-SENPAI! I won't leave you behind next time, 'kay? Have a good time Oishi-senpai!"

Eyes widened, Eiji pouted and tried to glare, wagging his other hand with fury. "WAIIII OISHI, OISHI! HE LIED, HE LIED!" This time, he shook Oishi drastically, almost choking his best-friend. "Maa I'm so sad and…and…MAD!"

"Ei-Eiji! I-I can't breathe! Let go!"

Oishi didn't need to worry about attracting anymore attention it seemed, because they seemed to have attracted far enough.

-- -- -- -- --

"Yo, Echizen, wait up!"

He continued to walk away.

"Oi," Momo shouted once again, "Oi, Echizen!"

"…shut up Momo-senpai, you're shouting too loud."

"Wait up then!"

"…mada mada dane."

"Oh stop with the 'mada mada dane'! Just stop, will ya?"

Echizen sighed, and stopped. Momo seemed satisfied and caught up, grinning. "So, hey; answer my question. What's bothering ya?"

"You," he answered simply.

"Aww…don't be like that Echizen. You're not…you know…about us…still…"

He almost caught his breath. "N-No…Why should I be?" Echizen resumed his pace, and tried to ignore his friend's bickering. This was just too much, and hearing Momo say those words only triggered some unwelcome memories.

"Then…why are you upset? You know you can tell me!"

"Mada mada."

Momo grabbed his wrist, and forced him to turn around. "I'm serious, you can tell me." The look in his eyes proved that he was serious. "Come on…Echizen," his sempai insisted, "We are still best-friends…right?"

"…" Ryoma shot a glare, trying to pull back from Momo's grasp. "Says who?"

His retort only annoyed his sempai.

"I can tell something is wrong, so tell me!"

The boy finally snapped his wrist out of Momo's clutch. "I don't feel like talking."

"You never do! If you don't tell me then…" he paused, trying to think of an idea, "I'll…I'll blackmail you!"

Boy wonder laughed, "Really… how so Momo-senpai?"

He grinned, and flashed a wink. "Ne, I know just the _perfect_ person."

"You aren't going to—"

"Yup!"

"What! Are you _crazy_!"

"What if I am?"

"You know if you do that you're going to—"

"I know, but it's a good sacrifice." Momo teased, "And what do I gotta lose, hmm?"

Ryoma stared at him with an alarmed expression. His sempai was crazy, thinking that he could blackmail Ryoma in telling him what was wrong – by going to _Fuji_; the devil incarnated him self, to get the information out of him. Well, it would take a huge sacrifice to walk up to Fuji and tell him about the plan – Echizen knew – and that was why he was amazed at what Momo-sempai said. _What do I gotta lose?_ Echizen snorted, he could lose more than he would expect (for instance, his sanity, health, and even soul). It wasn't about Momo's condition that worried him though. It was the fact that if this did happen, he had no way to back out of it – especially when his "problem" was related to Fuji Syuusuke himself.

"You're crazy, Momo-sempai."

"What? AM NOT!" How immature of his sempai. He couldn't believe himself that he fell in love with this person, and how Tachibana's-imouto could put up with such a retarded bastard.

Speaking of Tachibana Ann… "Momo-sempai, where's your wife?"

"Huh? Oh, she's taking care of Takato-chan, and asked me to buy him a hamburger but I bumped into you and Eiji-sempai with Oishi-sempai so than I got distra—OH SHIT!" The twenty-year old man cursed loudly in the crowded streets as he realized his mistakes. He smacked his forehead in frustration and ran back the way they came, waving behind along with an apology. "Gomen Echizen, I'll make sure I get what I want later! You wait and see!" The supposed 'threat' didn't scare him one bit. There was no way his Momo-sempai would—

-- -- -- -- --

"Echizen, Momo told me that you were bothered with something."

Oh hell no.

He felt himself cringe, body almost going limp as Fuji approached him the next day with serious open eyes. "Ne, you know you can tell me…we do live together you know. So I…" this time Fuji smiled evilly, "I have the _right_ to know."

Never…did he think -- that Momo would do such a thing.

Fuji loomed over the smaller figure, and bent his head down as if he was going to kiss the smaller boy. Ryoma felt himself blush, squinting his eyes close. He waited… seconds pasted, but the contact of their lips never met. The only thing he felt from the tensai was his forehead against his own, and then a small murmur. "You don't seem to be sick…"

Of course he wasn't sick!

"Saa…Ryoma," Fuji finally said his name, though in a dangerously low tone. "Nothing seems wrong with you… except," he poked his finger at Ryoma's chest, "emotional illness?"

Emotional illness?

"Mada mada dane."

"Aa…really?" The brunette arched an eyebrow. "Hmm…my, is Ryoma-kun dealing with something which he can't tell anyone yet?"

That voice…the way he was talking… Fuji knew. Ryoma cursed himself for being so careless, he hated when the tensai caught on… especially when he _didn't_. The way Fuji was looking at him, his gestures, his eye contacts, his smile, his looks, just _god_ – what made the tensai think that he knew everything? The thought irritated the younger boy, to an extent that he pushed Fuji back against the wall with a stern glare; both hands pinning the tensai. "Don't act as if you're so smart, _Syuusuke_."

Fuji smiled innocently. "Aa…that's the first time you addressed me by my first name."

The reply did not help the situation.

"You know what's bothering me? Why did you kiss me, and then just walked away like that? It doesn't make sense, sempai. It's like you're playing with me, and--,"

"I'm sorry that you were thinking that way," the chocolate-haired boy interrupted, "But I didn't know you would deliberate so much of such a matter."

"Wha--," the catlike golden eyes he possessed slanted dangerously, along with his temple creasing in anger. "You expect me to _not_ ponder? When my sempai just kisses me out of no where? Ne, Fuji-sempai, don't fuck with me." His tone was furious, and it was surprising how much strength the smaller boy possessed by pushing the older man adjacent to the wall. "I want to know why you did it." The hiss faltered Fuji's grim expression, into a slightly softer look.

For once, Fuji was caught speechless.

"Echi—Ryoma," he began, "I…"

The doorbell rang.

_Bad timing…_

He sighed, and Ryoma took this as a time to let go. He loosened his grip, and just turned away angrily; though the traces of the previous incident washing off his face, masking a face as if nothing had happened for the new arriving guest.

In a way, if Ryoma knew who was behind those closed door, maybe he wouldn't feel a tinge of regret as he let his senpai go.

"Te…Tezuka…?"

Ryoma's head shot upward as he heard Fuji whisper that name, as the door creaked open revealing their buchou.

"Fuji," Tezuka acknowledged, "Echizen."

"Tezuka."

"Buchou…"

The taller man nodded, as if approving that his presence in front of them was real. Fuji smiled softly, and opened the door wider for him to enter. "Ne, Tezuka…When did you come to Japan? I'm happy that you chose to come and visit us." The smile never left Fuji's face. For once, Ryoma felt like he couldn't read the tensai's façade. He felt lost, somewhat.

"Ah… we're on a break in Germany, so I chose to come and visit everyone in Japan."

"Sou ka…" Fuji gestured their guest to the living room.

The atmosphere almost made Ryoma feel unwanted. As he turned to look at Fuji, the prodigy only had his eyes laid on Tezuka, who was staring at him back. The tension only made him draw back his gaze, and hesitate to speak up. Finally, as if he felt it was necessary, he drew out a breath. "I'll… be heading back to my room. It's… nice seeing you again, buchou."

"You as well…" he broke into silence before finally adding, "Echizen."

There was a curt nod, and Ryoma retreated to his bedroom; feeling as if he left something important behind.

-- -- -- -- --

"Would you like some tea, Tezuka?" Fuji asked, as he tidied some of the books which were scattered amongst the coffee table. He chuckled, apologizing for the untidiness. It seemed like neither Echizen nor himself liked taking on the responsibility of taking on the household chores. Then again… compared to his room and Ryoma's, he would've guessed that the responsibility was proven to take a toll on him. Fuji looked up to see Tezuka's eyes examining the room, "Ne, Tezuka?"

Their ex-captain shook his head, "No, its fine."

"Saa, I see. Well, when did you come to Japan?"

The taller man finally fixed his gaze back on Fuji. "Yesterday," he answered simply. Fuji noted that his voice was a bit deeper. Really, five years did change them.

"I see…" the tensai smiled, "Well, does anyone else know that you're here?"

Tezuka nodded, "Apparently Inui knows."

"Really? Then Kaidoh must know as well…and if Kaidoh knows, then Momo knows…and if Momo knows, than Ann-san knows, and…" he couldn't help but continue on, but the expression on the other man's face made him falter. "Tezuka…?"

There was a long period of silence. At that moment, he felt himself thinking of Ryoma. _He didn't have to leave…_

"Fuji…how's Echizen?"

Speak of the devil, Fuji thought. "Maa…he's doing quite well. If you came a few days earlier, you would've gone with us to Momo's birthday."

In his stoic face, there was a hint of guilt.

"Well, no need. His birthday was loud, and there were some problems…but it went fine after that. Ryoma dealed with it exceptionally well; and we both got see Momo and Ann-san's child…his name's Takato." Fuji couldn't help but laugh at the memory of the baby boy drooling over Ryoma. "You should stop by at Momo's sometime and see the baby, he's adorable."

"Aa." Tezuka had his head lowered, as if avoiding eye contact.

Then, as if out of the blue, he spoke again. "It seems like you and Echizen have gotten along very well. I heard that you two started to live together."

Fuji nodded. He didn't find it a surprise that Tezuka would find out anyway, because he knew that Inui would tell Tezuka everything. After all, other than Oishi – Inui was the only person who kept in touch with their captain. After awhile, Fuji had given up in trying to fix the remnants of their relationships. There were too many holes, holes that were too big to recover. Essentially, he had let go of Tezuka the day he said that he was going to Germany. It was over; he knew that even though he had to continue on living, he could live without this man.

That day when Ryoma appeared at his door… he knew that he could live without Tezuka. As if a miracle, he was contented with the fact that Ryoma chose to stay with him. Although they were just mutual friends, it didn't matter. The days when Ryoma needed him the most, he would be there…and the day he needed the younger boy the most, he would expect him to lend the warmth of his arms. That was how it was, their relationship.

"I haven't asked, Fuji…but how are you these days?"

Fuji gently smiled, "Saa…I've been doing fine." He stood up from where he was seated, which was on the floor. "What's your condition, Tezuka?" He asked this while walking to the kitchen, taking a mug from the cabinet in the process. "Are you sure you don't want some tea? It's rather cold, isn't it?"

Tezuka declined. "I'm fine." Either he meant his condition or the cold weather, Fuji just nodded and poured him self a cup of jasmine tea.

Fuji blew the steam from his cup, and remained standing behind the counter of his kitchen. "Ne, Tezuka…"

The other man looked at him, waiting for him to continue his question.

Fuji chuckled, "How long are you going to stay in Japan?"

There was a shrug. "Probably a week."

"Saa…I see," the prodigy nodded.

To any outsider, the conversation would've been boring… but for just the two of them, it was just right. Fuji tried to remember how it was like, speaking with Tezuka years ago. Maybe this time, there was still lack of certain words, and a shortage of emotion, but Fuji didn't mind. This was how Tezuka was, someone who seemed difficult to approach – someone also not easy to speak to, but also someone greatly admired and, just many more pleasant things. He was smart, prideful, confidence… Fuji only thought that he was an older version of Echizen (though the younger boy possessed more sentiment and a carefree aura). Maybe that was why Fuji was so fond of Ryoma.

"Why did you choose to live with Echizen?"

Fuji opened his eyes slightly, a bit of blue hues visible. "What do you mean?"

"It's not like you."

_It's not like you…does that mean, you know me?_ The russet lock of Fuji's hair was pushed back with one swipe of a finger, as he made a move to approach the previous captain of Seigaku. "Do you really think it's not like me?"

There was stillness in the air, and then he nodded.

Fuji smirked. "I see. Well, oddly enough…I seem to have a fondness toward him, so I took him in."

"Do you remember that night I left, Fuji?" They question was unanticipated.

And for the second time that day, he was caught speechless as the memory overflowed him.

-- -- -- -- --

_"This is your final decision?" Fuji touched his arm, clutching the cloth sadly._

_"Hai…"_

_There was a broken smile. "Well…good bye."_

_"Fuji…"_

_He shook his head, trying to laugh; although he tried to suppress was crackled and hurt tone. "Iie, Iie…just, good luck with your future."_

_"Will you be waiting for me?"_

_Fuji knew how to answer this question. "No," he answered simply._

_Tezuka forced a gentle smile, "Good."_

_"Then, it really is a good bye."_

_A nod._

**_"Attention, flight 405 at Gate 45B, from Japan to Germany will depart in half an hour. Will all passengers from flight 405 please board at gate 45B now. I repeat..."_**

_Tezuka looked at him once more. "Fuji…don't use anyone as a replacement for me…understand? If you love them--"_

_"I know, Tezuka. I'll love them for who they are." A gentle smile, and then a shove, "You better go, or else the plane will take off without you." Although it was a joke, he was hoping it would really happen. "Ne, Sayonara Tezuka."_

_"Sayonara."_

-- -- -- -- --

"Do you understand, Fuji?"

"But I don't love him," he mused with a childlike smile.

"…" Tezuka almost glared. "Then what is he to you?"

"He's a room mate."

"If he is, don't fool with him and give him unneeded feelings."

_"You expect me to not ponder? When my sempai just kisses me out of no where? Ne, Fuji-sempai, don't fuck with me."_

The innocent smile faded.

"I try not to." He said this in a whisper. "But there are times when I just can't help myself. I'm not sure if the feeling I'm feeling right now is love, but I just feel something toward Ryoma. I won't exactly put it as love yet; it's not the same feelings as when I loved you, but still." His blue eyes gleamed under the well lit room. "I don't want to hurt him, and I'm not possibly sure if I _can_ love him – nor if he feels the same way anyhow. Especially when I haven't even assured myself that I'm through with the past."

Tezuka looked at the Fuji, not with pity, but with regret.

"I don't want to hurt myself, I guess."

The tensai rested his cup of tea on the coffee table and tried to laugh; recovering his flawless mask of smiles. "Ne, are you going to stay for dinner?" He changed the subject easily.

"No…that's fine. I just came here to see how you two were. I better start heading back to my hotel. I have something I have to do."

Fuji nodded slowly, "Then…I'll walk you to the door."

"Thank you," the taller man stated. "I'm sorry for the inconvenience."

"Iie, iie! I'm glad that you're doing fine." They strolled to the door, Fuji walking in front. Somehow, he couldn't help but feel Tezuka's intense gaze focused on his back.

As Fuji opened the door, Tezuka slipped on his shoes and he nodded his gratitude. "Tell Echizen farewell for me, and…" he gently touched Fuji's shoulder, "think of the future." After that, he removed his hand and walked out the door – leaving behind a confused genius, still pondering about those words that his captain left behind. Not once did that man smile when he was here.

_Did he find happiness elsewhere?_

He felt his body shiver as he closed the door. The conversation they had still fresh in his memories, repeating every sentence over and over. He underestimated how much Tezuka's words influenced him.

_"Why did you choose to live with Echizen?"_

The answer was simple…

_"It's not like you."_

After five years, Tezuka had no right to say that.

_"Fuji…don't use anyone as a replacement for me…understand? If you love them--"_

He never used a replacement for Tezuka. For five years he…

_Echizen…_

Fuji cursed.

_"But I don't love him."_

Those words produced a shiver against his skin.

Tezuka…

_"Then what is he to you?"_

Why did Tezuka come back?

_"He's a roommate."_

Tezuka…

_"If he is, don't fool with him and give him unneeded feelings."_

Fuji wrapped his arms around himself, as his limp figure lied against the door.

_Not once did Tezuka smile while he was here…_

Echizen Ryoma.

That angry face -- that hurtful voice -- those pair of eyes he always loved. Fuji stood up and grabbed his keys from the counter. Looking at the apartment once more, he hesitated to leave, but shook his head and opened the door. There was no need for a good-bye; he was going to come home soon…

…Right?

As he looked at the sky, he realized it was unpredictably cold for an August night.

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Tsuzuku**

**Author's Note: **waiii Fuji-kun's gone x.x can I say this story was very difficult to right? mou, makes it all confused and negative... poor Ryoma-kun, ne? I don't want to make Fuji the bad guy! and where did tezuka come from! its weird though, because Tezuka comes back in five years as Fuji's ex-lover and he doesn't seem to have any affection to the tensai anymore. it just seems like he just comes and goes, visits and see's how his friends are doing. psh. TT;; now, I wonder where Fuji will go? he'll go home...right? haha, I'm thinking too much x3


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